Why is 'gingerism' an acceptable form of prejudice?

[Pacific]

Came home from a late shift last night to find my cool and handsome 13 year old DS crying after some cyberbullying because he has reddish hair.

The story came tumbling out between sobs. He had been out on Saturday afternoon with his pal and their respective 'sweethearts'. The two girls also happen to be best friends.

After they all split up and made their way home about tea time, Ds was getting hassled on the bus home by some local neds getting called 'ginger c**nt' etc. They got off at the same bus stop. One punched DS. DS retaliated (he is rugby player) and ended up giving the boy a bloody nose. The boy's friends ran off when they saw DS not to be messed with but bloody nose boy has threatened DS that his Dad and big brother will get him. This is not an empty threat....we know who they are. DS is now terrified.

Next thing that happened, On facebbook last night DS's girlfriend's best pal started taunting his girlfriend about the ginger hair. DS somehow managed to see this convo. It was really horrible stuff and coming so close after the attempted beating (just for having red hair FFS) was all too much for him and he was sobbing his heart out. I haven't seen him cry in years.

Bastards. Why is this OK? Why do people pick on redheads? Where did this come from? Why is this prejudice not tackled?

Im aredhead but sadly the bullying as a teen is all to common , I went right through the name calling ginger minge the lot.

Now im older 30 something I enjoy standing out but do get fed up of the oh I bet you have a temper .Its my fark haired brother that actually does

love the concept of "fark hair"! although I know you mean dark, it was just a funny typo

It seems to be acceptable when they are in a certain age bracket.

Once you get to a certain age as an adult, people go on about how beautiful it is.

Both of mine are red, being young all they get are nice comments. I assume that this will not last. School children seem to really like mocking ginger-ness though. I have brown hair with slight redness in the summer and I spent a while at school being called horrid ginger names. I wasn't even ginger, but it didn't matter!

By the way, for you non-redheads reading, what is the obsession with the colour of a redheads' pubes? My husband has brown hair and lo and behold, has brown pubes but no one ever asks him this question. What colour to you expect them to be? Genuinely, I'm curious.

Not read the whole thread but just wanted to say that the 'gingerism' doesn't stop when you leave school. My dp is nearly 30 and he still gets abuse shouted at him by random strangers just for being ginger. Once he was pushing ds in pushchair across a zebra crossing and the car stopped and grown men shout ginger abuse to him all the way across the crossing!

I seem to get get more angry and upset about it them him, it's like water of ducks back to him.

I heard that it was dying out, but it seems like I see red headed children everywhere! Maybe I am just more aware of them because of my own children?

theressomething - I think it's because a lot of women especially (and I'm pretty sure they're the only ones who get asked whether they have matching "collar and cuffs") dye their hair red.

Whether having matching pubes makes them more or less risible, I guess depends on who is asking.

redhead prank

redhead protest

And I never encountered any teasing as a redhead growing up in Australia. Now I am so disappointed that my red hair is fading as I get older.

Pfft - it is supposed to die out because it is a recessive gene - but actually it doesn't work like that, there is an inherent stability to the distribution of some recessive gene features, such as red hair and Rh negative blood.

Love the redhead protest,Lou! So funny, especially the black guy at the end joining in!

oh right, thumbwitch.

So if someone says that there will be no more ginger children born in 50 years, do they mean that there could be...(but in reality it won't happen)?. I can't even remember where I read/watched it now!

ooh there we go (wikipedia, knower of everything in an almost correct way)

A 2007 report in The Courier-Mail, which cited the National Geographic magazine and unnamed "genetic scientists", said that red hair is likely to die out in the near future.[26] Other blogs and news sources ran similar stories that attributed the research to the magazine or the "Oxford Hair Foundation". However, a HowStuffWorks article says that the foundation was funded by hair-dye maker Procter & Gamble, and that other experts had dismissed the research as either lacking in evidence or simply bogus. The National Geographic article in fact states "while redheads may decline, the potential for red isn't going away".[27]

Pfft - if you're of a scientific turn of mind, this page on the Hardy Weinberg principle "explains" why redheads won't die out any time soon.

I just don't understand this - it's infuriating! Kid/bullies will home in on any perceived weakness to upset their victim - just happens with readheads it's not difficult to find something to draw attention to. I love red hair!

hiyaaa, its Pacific's dd here (the one with red hair) thanks everyone for the comments, and I am planning to show my bro the tim munchin thing. I remember a boy at my school played it at the s3 talent show, and I thought it was really funny, espesh cuz I was sitting on the front row and he winked at me :L lol he know I wouldn't get mad. I have always taken the gingerness thing as a joke. Though I hate my pale skin so I fake tanned my legs much to the amusement of my P.E class so im not planning to do that again and I really really really want to go to the red haired festival in holland! its looks beautiful! and the photos would be awesome! I have never seen so many red haired people at once, in the same place!
xxx

Hello Pacific's DD!

Yes the pale skin that won't tan thing is a real pain. And there's not a fake tan that is convincing enough for redheads...

No! Revel in your paleness. It's a thing of beauty! Much nicer than a common tan. Everyone has those.

I think it's tolerated because it's not really a disadvantage.

It's not like being fat, or ugly, or even short. I'm always reading negative comments about short people and that is tolerated! It's been proved that being short is a disadvantage in the work place.

So although it's no consolation, I think that red haired people are teased, but they're not actually at a disadvantage. On the sports field, in the work place, health-wise. People don't think they're lazy or greedy.

This doesn't excuse it. I'm just answering your question.

MillyR said what I said first and much better.

I always had a wee thing for boris becker and Eric Stolz, despite being irish. But I don't seem to know many red heads. It seems relatively rare to me. Brown hair is obviously a hundred times more common than blonde or red.

Oh goodness I'm already worried about 3 MO DS2 as he has beautiful strawberry blonde/ red hair - I already have had a comment from a neighbour, the conversation went:
Me: "look at his hair! (i.e. how lovely a colour)
Neighbour: "Oh well that's ok" (i.e. don't worry it's not too bad!)
Our plan is to make sure he has a trendy haircut, trendy clothes and build up his confidence and social skills so he has enough friends that can speak up for him. So sad I feel like this already!

I'm not sure about red hair becoming more common but strawberry blonde certainly seems to be. A good 40% of DS's friends seem to have it! Older people always comment on how beautiful and unusual it is. I have to tell them that actually, yes it's beautiful, but it's not that unusual anymore.

I have 3 beautiful boys but DS3 has spectacular red hair and people endlessly comment on how stunning it is, but we live in Ireland so I'm no help. Really can't understand how people can be sooooo unpleasant about a hair colour, it is demented!

I'm a ginger! I'm a ginger!!

Bullying when I was in school was more to do with being fat than with gingerness, but it didn't help. Meh. My hatred of bullies has helped me become a more aggresively fair-minded person later in life. that's just how it affected me - I was lucky.

I am now one of those annoying red-headed women who is very vain of their hair. As my profile pics prove!!!

I'd be vain as well if I had that!

don't encourage me...